The present invention relates generally to a bolt-up or bolt-together conveyor and, more particularly, to a bolt-up powered belt conveyor which includes adjustable portions to adapt the bolt-up powered belt conveyor to various applications.
Typically, a powered belt conveyor includes conveyor sidewalls and cross members which are cut to a predetermined length or size and welded together to manufacture the desired belt conveyor. The conveyor and conveyor sections thus are generally non-adjustable and difficult to modify should changes be required or desired in the layout of the conveyor.
Some conveyors have been proposed which bolt together to allow for changeover or modification of the conveyor. However, such conveyors are typically roller conveyors, because the bolted conveyors cannot withstand the excessive forces exerted by a continuous conveyor belt which is driven around guide rollers of a belt conveyor during operation of the belt conveyors. Such excessive forces tend to cause slippage between the fasteners and components of the conveyors. Additionally, the bolt-together conveyors of the prior art are not adjustable to adjust an overall length of the conveyor to adapt conveyor sections to different applications requiring different length sections.
Although some bolt together conveyors provide for adjustment of the conveyor layout, they still may require some specialized plates or components to adapt the conveyor to the appropriate layout. For example, when the angle between two adjacent conveyor sections changes, an appropriate nose-over plate must be made and installed at the joint between the two conveyor sections to provide a generally continuous conveying surface between the two conveyor sections.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a bolt-together conveyor which allows for adjustment and disassembly of conveyor sections for a powered belt conveyor. The bolt-together conveyor should ease the manufacture and modification of the conveyor and facilitate adjustment in the length and orientation of conveyor sections relative to one another.
The present invention is intended to provide a bolt-up powered belt conveyor which includes bolt-together conveyor sections for a powered belt conveyor. The bolt-up sections include adjustable end assemblies, adjustable drive assemblies and/or adjustable nose-over sections to facilitate easy assembly and adjustment of the powered belt conveyor.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a powered belt conveyor includes a conveyor frame section having opposite sidewalls, a slide plate and an end portion and a conveyor end assembly. The end assembly includes a pair of side assemblies. Each of the pair of side assemblies is removably and adjustably mounted to the end portion of a respective one of the sidewalls of the frame section. The end assembly includes an end roller rotatably mounted between the side assemblies. The end roller is operable to generally reverse the direction of the conveyor belt. The side assemblies are adjustable at the end portions of the sidewalls to adjust an overall length of the conveyor. The conveyor end assembly further includes a locking member at each of the side assemblies. The locking members are operable to secure the pair of side assemblies at a selected position along the end portion of the sidewalls and to secure the location of the end roller relative to the sidewalls. The pair of locking members limits movement of the end roller and the pair of side assemblies and the end roller when the conveyor belt is driven about the end roller.
In one form, the locking member includes a threaded rod, which engages a threaded plate bolted to the sidewall and a threaded thrust plate of the respective side assembly. The threaded rod is rotatable to adjust a position of the end roller relative to the sidewalls of the conveyor section and non-rotatably securable to one of the plates to generally fix the distance between the threaded plate and the thrust plate, thereby fixing or securing the end assembly and end roller relative to the sidewalls of the frame section, in order to prevent movement of the end roller during operation of the power belt conveyor.
The pair of side assemblies are separated and connected by a cross member, such as a slide plate and/or a guard plate or the like. The length of the end roller and the cross member may be selected to adjust the separation of the pair of side assemblies and thus the width of the end assembly, to adapt the end assembly to conveyor frame sections having different widths.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a powered belt conveyor includes a first frame section having opposite sidewalls and a first end and a second frame section having opposite sidewalls and a second end. The second end of the second frame section is positioned generally adjacent to and aligned with the first end of the first frame section. The powered belt conveyor further includes a nose-over assembly, which is mounted to the first and second ends of the frame sections. The nose-over assembly includes a roller for routing a continuous conveying belt over the roller. The nose-over assembly is adjustable such that the nose-over assembly and the belt provide a continuous conveying surface between the first and second frame sections throughout a range of angles between the first and second frame sections.
The nose-over assembly includes a pair of opposite side assemblies, which are separated by and connected to a cross member, such as a slide plate and/or a guard plate or the like. The length of the roller and the width of the cross member may be selected to separate the side assemblies a desired amount, in order to adjust the width of the nose-over assembly to adapt the nose-over assembly to frame sections of different widths.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a powered belt conveyor drive assembly for a powered belt conveyor includes a frame, a drive motor removably mounted to the frame and a drive roller rotationally driven by the drive motor. The powered belt conveyor has a continuous conveyor belt which is drivable along the powered belt conveyor by the drive motor and drive roller. At least one end of the drive assembly is mountable at a conveyor section having at least one belt roller positioned thereon for supporting and guiding the conveyor belt. The drive motor is removably connectable to the drive roller. The powered belt conveyor drive assembly further includes first and second belt routing rollers for routing the continuous conveyor belt therearound. At least one end of the drive assembly is mountable at a conveyor section having at least one belt roller positioned thereon. The first and second belt routing rollers are adjustably mounted to the frame of the drive assembly and are adjustable to adapt the drive assembly for mounting at various conveyor sections with various conveyor belts. The first belt routing roller is mounted to a locking device which is operable to secure the first belt routing roller at a selected position to limit movement of the first belt routing roller relative to the frame when the drive roller is being driven by the drive motor.
In one form, the locking device includes a threaded rod fixedly mounted to a mounting bracket at the ends of the first belt routing roller. The threaded rod engages a threaded thrust plate fixedly mounted to a side of the drive assembly. The threaded rod is non-rotatably securable to the thrust plate to generally fix the location of the first belt routing roller relative to the sidewalls of the drive assembly, in order to limit or preclude movement of the roller during operation of the drive motor. The drive assembly is adapted to be driven by either a rotational drive shaft, a motorized pulley or a motor and gear box, and is further adapted to accommodate a changeover in the power or drive unit or motor.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of this invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.